Stir-Frying · FFET10234
Suan rong kong xin cai (garlic stir-fried water spinach)
Water spinach tossed quickly over high heat after garlic is fried in hot oil, seasoned with salt or oyster sauce, ready in minutes.
A round white porcelain plate holds green water spinach with softened leaves and stems coated in a light brown, oily sauce, with pale minced garlic scattered among them, with wooden chopsticks resting beside the plate.
Cooking small pieces in a little oil over high heat, tossed quickly in the wok.
Garlic stir-fried water spinach is tossed quickly over high heat after garlic is fried in hot oil, then seasoned with salt or oyster sauce. The plant originated in Southeast Asia and spread south of the Yangtze. The Nanfang caomu zhuang, traditionally ascribed to Ji Han of the Western Jin though its authorship and date are disputed, records its cultivation on floating reed rafts. No dated text for the garlic stir-fry was found. Both methods take a few minutes, and one matches Cantonese restaurant and home cooking.
What
Water spinach is a leafy green with hollow stems. In the garlic version, garlic is fried in hot oil first, then the greens are tossed quickly over high heat and seasoned with salt or oyster sauce. Both methods cook the greens just until they wilt.1,5,6
When
No dated text for the garlic stir-fry was found, so its origin date remains unknown. Water spinach appears in the Nanfang caomu zhuang, traditionally ascribed to Ji Han of the Western Jin, though its authorship and date are disputed. Its surviving editions date from the Southern Song, and its entry records cultivation on floating reed rafts.2,3
Where
The available texts do not tie the garlic version to a particular place. Water spinach originated in Southeast Asia and spread south of the Yangtze. Guangdong versions use fermented tofu, while Hong Kong versions use shrimp paste. One garlic preparation matches Cantonese restaurant and home cooking.1,5,6
How
Both methods fry garlic in hot oil before adding the greens. One cooks for a few minutes and seasons with oyster sauce; the other wilts the greens, adds a little water, covers the pan for 1 minute, then seasons with salt and other seasonings.5,6
Why
The available texts do not explain why water spinach is often cooked with garlic. Both methods take a few minutes, frying the garlic in oil before adding the greens.5,6
Impact and influence
The garlic style is one of 3 main Chinese ways of cooking water spinach. Regional stir-fries include the Guangdong version with fermented tofu and the Hong Kong version with shrimp paste.1,4
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
This is the quick way I cook it at home, a side dish for two. The amount of garlic and the order of frying garlic before the greens follow two signed recipes: one is tagged as Chinese and Indonesian, has just three steps and uses oyster sauce, and the other's author says it matches Cantonese restaurant and home cooking, with its steps run together in one paragraph, which I have split apart. Adding a little water and covering the pan for a minute follows the second. The amounts and the frying times for the garlic and stems are my own choices at home, and I leave out chicken essence.
Ingredients
- Water spinach 300 g
- Peanut oil 1 tablespoon
- Garlic 4 cloves, minced
- Water 2 tablespoons
- Oyster sauce 1 tablespoon
- Salt a small pinch
Steps
- Wash the water spinach, trim off any tough stem ends, cut it into lengths of about 6 cm, keep stems and leaves apart and drain well.
- Heat the wok, add the peanut oil, turn the heat to high, and fry the garlic for about 15 seconds until fragrant. Do not let it brown.
- Add the stems and stir-fry for about 30 seconds, then add the leaves and toss until they just wilt.
- Pour in the water, cover the pan and let it steam for 1 minute.
- Lift the lid, add the oyster sauce and salt, toss to mix and serve at once.
Tips
- Drain the greens well before they go in the wok, or the oil spatters and the greens turn watery and limp; this is my own experience.
- Stir-fried water spinach darkens if it sits, so I always take it straight from the wok to the table; this is my own habit.
Allergens: peanut, shellfish, wheat